Freddie Roach Aims First Round KO by Pacquiao Over Joshua Clottey

At the beginning of his training sessions with Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, Freddie Roach who is celebrating his 50th birthday today, says he will be happy to see Joshua Clottey go down in the hands of Pacquiao right on the first round of their fight

Popular trainer Freddie Roach who is celebrating his 50th birthday today says he will be happy to see Manny Pacquiao beat Joshua Clottey in the first round of their fight scheduled for March 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“I have said that the fight will be long and that it’ll probably end late, like nine rounds but I would be very happy if Manny wins in one round,” Roach said on Thursday, the eve of his 50th birthday.

Roach must have been impressed by what he saw during the past few days how Pacquiao demolished his giant sparring partners one after the other. Roach also knew that Clottey can be had in the first round as what happened when he was knocked down by Miguel Cotto in the first round of their fight a year ago at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.

But all along, Roach has been saying that Pacquiao will get Cotto inside 12 rounds. The other day Roach said Pacquiao will try finish Clottey inside nine rounds.

Pacquiao will exploit Clottey’s lack of foot movement for sure. Clottey has a tendency to walk into an opponent’s range without throwing punches, making him an easy target. Pacquiao will run rings around Clottey and rain punches from all angles. If the Ghanaian isn’t able to move away from Pacquiao’s winging space, he’ll be a sitting duck and punching bag for the Filipino icon.

To his credit, Clottey has never been stopped. He’s known for his resiliency and durability. Clottey is bigger than Pacquiao and will definitely be heavier when they clash. But as the saying goes, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, Henson added.

Manny Pacquiao entourage leaves Monday for Arlington Texas for the final phase of his training and preparation before he climbs up the ring to face Joshua Clottey of Ghana before some 45,000 boxing fans at the huge Cowboys Stadium.